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Learn more about Fear Free and the impact it has on veterinary clinics in this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360

Fear free in practice

Each of the 15 selected students will receive a $20,000 scholarship 

AAVMC announces Chewy Veterinary leaders Cohort

The product can help reduce stress for patients at veterinary facilities

New pet bed incorporates Fear Free features

Veterinary toxicologists are warning clients about the dangers of accidental exposure to semaglutide weight loss medications

Protecting patients from Ozempic exposure

National Blood Donor Month is recognized annually in January.

Pet blood donation is needed to save patient lives

AAFCO is partnering with Kansas State University for the new regulatory review process

New animal food ingredient review process is approved by AAFCO

The antihistamine and corticosteroid Trimeprazine with Prednisolone Tablets received FDA approval last year

First generic drug for pruritus and cough conditions in dogs to be exhibited at VMX

The integrative-medicine page is a comprehensive resource for Veterinary news, animal health, and pet care insights on integrative-medicine. Read more at dvm360

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 integrative medicine page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on the latest in veterinary integrative medicine. This page consists of videos, interviews, articles, podcasts, and research on the advancements and developments of therapies for integrative medicine, and more.

This podcast is worth 0.25 CE credits. Head to 

and login or create an account to redeem your free CE after listening to this episode.

Reports of clinical success using mushrooms in the treatment of cancer, immune modulation, chronic infections, providing energy and stamina to athletes, and for both metabolic and cognitive support have all been supported by multiple objective published studies, although not many in veterinary species. The use of mushrooms for medicinal applications in our veterinary species is in its infancy with the recent resurgence of popular, academic, and clinical interest in this emerging therapeutic. 

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, sat down with Robert Silver DVM, MS, chief veterinary officer Real Mushrooms, to talk about what these medicinal mushrooms can do for your patients. 

Below is a partial transcript. Listen to the full episode to hear more.

: That's the first question I get, what's it for? Now I'm just going to go and talk about a few specific mushrooms and give a few of what I think are their highest callings for the veterinary practitioner. You know, it's there's only so much time available, I could spend a full podcast on a single mushroom, there's so much information, and still not have enough time to cover it all. So we'll do our best to cover the most salient points and I'll start with Turkey Tail.

This podcast will discuss the clinical use of mushrooms in veterinary species for cancer (turkey tail, Reishi, maitake, shiitake mushrooms and chaga); vaccine titer immune competence (oyster mushroom); support of the CKD patient (cordyceps mushroom); Canine Cognitive Disorder (Lion’s Mane mushroom), and Microbiome support (all mushrooms).

Podcast CE: There’s a mushroom for that!

This episode of The Vet Blast Podcast features Angela Ardolino, cofounder of CBD Dog Health. She explains her research into cannabis and integrative medicine and how that informed her career path.

Below is a partial transcript. Listen to the full podcast for more.

: So what are some other things that we should be looking out for when we're making a [cannabis] selection? 

: That it's a full spectrum product. And that [certificate of analysis] (CoA) is the most important thing, because it's going to show that it is a full-spectrum product and that it actually has enough of the major cannabinoids to actually make a difference. So if you can't easily find a CoA on their website, or for instance, on our products, there's a QR code on it. So you scan it with your phone and it takes you directly to the CoA, the batch number's on the bottom of the bottle so that you can see exactly what is in that tincture.

Angela Ardolino is a holistic pet expert specializing in cannabis products who has been caring for animals for over 20 years 

Updates in cannabis and integrative medicine in 2022

Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, joins this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast with Adam Christman, DVM, MBA. Shapley shares plans for a telehealth platform that helps busy clinicians add integrative medicine into their treatment plans with only a quick, virtual consultation.

: We're developing a platform for tele-integrative medicine. So basically, it's for veterinarians to call me...for those clients that want to do integrative medicine. So, they want to integrate herbs into the treatment modality; or they just want to exclusively do herbal medicine; or they've tried everything on the western side and it's time to crack open the eastern side of the medicine.

Telehealth consultations provide a quick and easy way to incorporate integrative medicine modalities

Virtual integrative medicine consults with Christopher Shapley

Integrative medicine is rapidly gaining mainstream popularity in veterinary medicine. On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Emily Abraham, DVM, CVA,  explains how integrative medicine influenced the design of her Good Vets hospitals.

: It's a treat to be able to jump into an acupuncture room and just like kind of take a deep breath and just unwind with these animals and connect with them. And there's other indications for acupuncture, as you know. [It] can be used for emergency breathing, respiratory distress, anxiety, when patients are having seizures, vomiting, [and] nausea. And so I like educating my clients about acupressure, which they can perform at home or on their way to the veterinarian, as well as teaching them about dry needle, electro-acupuncture, [and] Aqua-acupuncture...It's an absolute honor to be able to treat these guys.

Emily Abraham, DVM, CVA, shares how integrative medicine has shaped her practice

How 1 veterinarian built her practice around integrative medicine

Many clients are filled to the brim with questions surrounding veterinary acupuncture. Among the most common is: Does it hurt? According to Christopher Shapley, DVM, a specialist in veterinary acupuncture and herbal medicine, the simple answer is no. 

"The needles are so thin and inserted so easily that it is a virtually painless experience," he tells Adam Christman, DVM, MBA. He adds that pain typically only lasts for less than a second in areas that have high stagnation or exhibit more pain. After that, the experience is refreshing.

Shapley also addresses the recent influx of clients seeking both acupuncture and herbal medications for their pets and explains how alternative therapies are becoming more accepted by pet owners and within human and animal medicine. 

“Even in human medicine, we’re moving [from] ‘I have pain, take a pill,’ to ‘I have pain, I want alternative treatments.’ That same feeling is going to their pets,” says Shapley. 

Listen below to learn more about Shapley’s expert knowledge about acupuncture, plus his insight on why more pet parents are leaning towards herbal medications and integrative therapies.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Dr Christopher Shapley covers the ins and outs of veterinary acupuncture and why pet parents are migrating towards this treatment approach. 

Episode 54: The secrets behind veterinary acupuncture 

When a pet owner is told their dog has cancer, often their mind goes first to the adverse effects wrought by traditional cancer therapies in humans. In fact, a 2017 

 revealed that 58% of dog and cat owners would not pursue chemotherapy for their pet, largely due to their previous experience with it.

According to Michael Lucroy,DVM, MS, DACVIM (oncology), the answer for many of these owners may lie in 

In this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Lucroy talks with Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, about how immunotherapy works and why it might be a good option for pets whose owners are anxious about chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery.

Adverse event rates are comparatively quite low with immunotherapeutics, according to Lucroy, so immunotherapy has a lot to offer for owners who are fearful about that. It is also good for owners who want to pursue every treatment option, he says—those who are “in it to win it”—because immunotherapy works well in concert with radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

There are a couple of ways the immune response can be altered to fight cancer. “With immunotherapy, [we’re] trying to use the body’s own innate defenses to our advantage,” Lucroy says, “whether that’s stimulating an immune response to go and fight cancer or…trying to deal with the immunosuppression cancer can create.”

One of the things cancer does is recruit T-regulatory cells that are immunosuppressive. In health, these T cells are supposed to moderate the immune response, but in the case of cancer, the cancer recruits the T cells and makes a nice environment for them to grow and thrive, preventing the rest of the immune system from fighting the cancer. “So sometimes the way you come at it is to get rid of that immunosuppression,” he says.

Metronomic therapy in human cancers is an example. Lucroy breaks down the process: “You give low doses daily of an alkylating agent like cyclophosphamide or chlorambucil, along with a COX-2 inhibitor NSAID, and what those do is actually deplete the body of T-regulatory cells. So, it overcomes that immune suppression that the cancer is driving.” This process allows the rest of the immune system, like the cytotoxic T cells, to come in and kill the cancer.

Listen below to learn more about the forms of immunotherapy used in veterinary medicine, how it works, the benefits it may offer, and the options for administering immunotherapy in general practice.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Dr Christman talks with Michael Lucroy, DVM, MS, DACVIM (oncology), about the impact and benefits of immunotherapy in veterinary cancer.

Episode 40: How immunotherapy is changing the face of veterinary cancer treatment

For Texas holistic veterinarian Shawn Messonnier, DVM, skin problems, ear infections, and allergies are all too common at his practice. Early on in his career, he noticed that conventional methods such as steroids, antibiotics, and antifungals, were helping to improve these conditions, but his patients weren’t staying healed.

What started as a search for alternative treatment options for his dermatology patients turned into a newfound passion for holistic medicine.

In this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Messonnier defines holistic medicine and explains how its instilling hope in the hearts of his clients and helping to extend the life of his patients.

Messonnier tells Dr. Adam Christman that holistic veterinary medicine involves the following:

 For example, if a pet comes in with a skin problem, he says, he might recommend a liver detox, plus offer immune and GI support. Holistic treatment means looking at 

 options available. “We aren’t opposed to conventional medicine, but it would be a second choice unless it’s a life-saving choice you need to make,” says Messonnier.

 This means always trying to restore the pet to its normal, proper homeostatic function. “If we are functioning well, then there is less likely to be a disease and if there is a disease, usually we can fight it off better,” says Messonnier.

“One of my hopes is to give hope to the hopeless. Though I can never promise a cure, I can tell most owners that based upon my experience, I expect [their] pet to do better… and most of the time, we get those really good, positive results.”

Listen below to learn more about holistic veterinary medicine.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Dr. Adam Christman is joined by holistic veterinarian Shawn Messonnier, DVM, who breaks down the true meaning of holistic medicine and how it’s giving hope to clients and their pets.

Episode 33: A closer look at holistic veterinary medicine

Michael H. Jaffe, DVM, MS, DACVS, an associate professor of small animal surgery at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has always been fueled by the desire to ease his patients’ pain. “When we talk about treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) in dogs, it really comes down to multimodal management,” he tells Dr. Adam Christman in the latest episode of The Vet Blast Podcast. “As a veterinary surgeon,” Dr. Jaffe said, “I would much rather find an alternative for my patients that doesn’t result in [the need for surgery].”

At its core, Dr. Jaffe explains, OA is inflammation of a joint, which is why these dogs are typically treated with anti-inflammatory medications. But these medications will alleviate discomfort and decrease clinical signs only to a mild degree. That’s where multimodal management comes in.

The great thing about multimodal management is that it encompasses numerous treatment options in addition to anti-inflammatories, Dr. Jaffe pointed out. Among the most important modalities, he says, is weight management, because many dogs with OA are older and have a tendency to move around less. Dr. Jaffe emphasizes the importance of diet and controlled exercise, which includes leash walking and swimming. “The reduction of weight will reduce the pressure they place on their arthritic limbs, so it’s important to get the weight off and keep these dogs as lean as possible,” he says.

Nutraceuticals are also a big part of multimodal therapy in dogs with OA, including glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate, methylsulfonylmethane, fatty acids, CBD, and other herbals. These supplements provide the building blocks for cartilage to perform its normal healthy function. Acupuncture, laser therapy, shockwave therapy, and physical therapy, among others, are also good treatment options.

“At the end of the road, there are some patients that we just can’t treat with medical management, and we do have surgical options at that point,” Dr. Jaffe says. To learn more about the nonsurgical modalities that can be used in your OA patients, listen to the podcast below.

In this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Dr. Michael Jaffe outlines the nonpharmaceutical measures that can—and should—be used to manage canine osteoarthritis.

Episode 11: Multimodal management of canine osteoarthritis

Noted by his peers as one of the 15 most influential veterinarians in North America, Allen Schoen, DVM, MS, walks us through his journey of becoming a pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine. Early on in his career, he tells Dr. Adam Christman DVM, MBA, that he discovered his passion: helping animals that didn’t respond to western medicine.

Recalling this lightbulb moment – Dr. Schoen, who has over 40 years of clinical experience, research and teaching, says he realized he was destined to create a new field in veterinary medicine after attending an acupuncture training course in New York City. Soon after, he followed his heart and embarked on a mission to promote complementary therapies, and eventually helped to set up the first department of veterinary acupuncture outside of China.

Today, Dr. Schoen has the largest holistic integrative veterinary referral practice for both small animals and equine and has written several textbooks and currently hosts his own show, "Awakening With Your Animal Family."

Listen to the full podcast below to learn more about Dr. Schoen’s unique story. If you’d like to be featured on our podcast, 

In this Episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine, Dr. Allen Schoen talks with Dr. Adam Christman about the evolution and continued growth of complementary and alternative veterinary medicine.

Episode 7: Creating a new field in veterinary medicine

Integrative therapies can enhance a patient’s survival and quality of life

Integrative & Holistic Medicine

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